Admission requirements - MSc International Land and Water Management
Interested in the master's programme International Land and Water Development? Find out whether your knowledge and skills match the entry level of the programme.
This page specifically describes the previous knowledge and skills required for admission to the International Land and Water Development programme. For the additional general admission requirements of Wageningen University & Research, application deadlines and the application procedure, visit How to apply for a master's programme?
Are you interested in the programme, but not sure whether your background matches the stated requirements? Feel free to contact us.
Admission requirements
Required knowledge and skills
Purpose and reason for the admission requirements
The admission requirements for the master's programme International Land and Water Management are defined in such a way that the students should be able to successfully complete the programme nominally in two years. The programme aims to prepare students to work in different capacities using interdisciplinary knowledge on international issues. Therefore, a student needs to have knowledge on both biophysical and social sciences related to land and water to be admitted. This is to ensure that the student has a solid basis to follow the advanced studies in the master's programme.
The criterion used for admission is
a WUR BSc degree in International Land and Water Management, or equivalent.
The norm for this equivalence is
An assessment of the student's expertise in at least two of the following topics in biophysical sciences:
- Earth sciences (irrigation, geo-information science, hydraulics and/or hydrology)
- Soil sciences (land degradation and/or soil and water conservation)
- Agricultural development
And at least one of the following topics in social sciences:
- Natural resources management
- Rural development
- Political sciences (policy development)
Not all topics mentioned need to be mastered at the same level; they will be weighed by the Admission Board per individual application.
Method of assessment whether this norm is met
- Transcript of records displaying the content of previous course subjects and project work;
- Curriculum vitae displaying relevant work, internship and/or project experience on an academic level in a relevant field if applicable.
Scores attributed by the Admission Board
Admitted / not admitted / admitted under condition obtaining the BSc or MSc degree / not admitted with offer of pre-master
Compensation of knowledge gaps
The Admission Board may allow and/or suggest compensation of knowledge gaps by:
- a GPA≥7.0* for the previous education for small discrepancies as new knowledge is sufficiently easily acquired;
- a GPA≥7.0* and an individual pre-master's programme for larger discrepancies that can be compensated in ≤30 ECTS and one year of study.
*Check the general admissions page for the International credentials evaluation guide for international equivalencies to a Dutch GPA>7.0. This guide includes compensating factors for a slightly lower GPA the Admission Board may include in their judgement.
Contact us through the contact button above to discuss the possibilities of a pre-master or how to mitigate knowledge gaps if you are still in the process of obtaining your degree.
Find out more about enrolment and fees of a pre-master's programme.